the charge brought against the Church. at Ephesus will apply to me. "Thou hast left thy first love." My love is not so bright and burning as it was when I first knew the Lord, but I rejoice to know that the Lord of Paradise gives the overcomer "to eat of the tree of life," for His fruit has been sweet to my taste. The fruit of righteousness is peace. May the peace of God which passeth all understanding rule in our hearts now and evermore. Amen. "HE CARETH FOR YOU." Ir is a great truth that "wonders of grace to our God belong," and each rolling year witnesses the marvels of mercy manifested by the "God of all grace," to His deeply loved, yet often sorrowing, weary, way-worn, heart-sore children. But no sorrow, weariness, want, or woe has altered that God who has declared "I change not," therefore, "Jacob's sons are not consumed." Whatever, then, may be the surroundings, dark and gloomy as may be the outlook, threatening as may be the billows, ringing clear above the wildest storm is Truth's sweet voice, "He careth for you." And the unfolding year, with its ever new necessities, shall echo and re-echo the cheering truth, which shall drop as balm into the troubled soul, while His kind and tender hand shall heal the wounds and bind up the broken heart, and the revenue of praise be secured to His dear name for ever. દર But who is "He" and what are "you" to stand in such association? Surely our thoughts are lost in reverend awe," as we try to contemplate the abashed seraphim, covering their faces and crying to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." Yet, while He "inhabiteth eternity," with heaven as His throne and earth His footstool, His voice, that "rolls the stars along, and speaks all the promises," is borne in love's mildest accents upon our astonished souls: "To this man wILL I look," and with him will I dwell, "even him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word." "He," then, the ineffably Holy, the incomprehensibly glorious Jehovah; and "you," the poor, weak, sinful "worm," stand linked together. A Cross stands between, raised by matchless love. An altar is between, dyed with the richest blood that ever flowed on earth. A Lamb is between, which bears away the sins, the faults, the failings, and the follies of the poor contrite one. A Surety stands between, who takes the punishment belonging to the contrite one upon Himself. And as these form the link between "Himself and you," they prove and proclaim the fact, that "He cares," and has pleasure in His care, "for you." He has proved His care, and His pleasure in His care, by the plan He formed, by the preparations which He made, by the power He has displayed, and by His presence manifested with you. While His own sworn oath floats above and round about you, never to leave you nor forsake you, till His own love satisfies itself, in your fully developed perfection, and you are like Him, and with Him, for ever. But, in grace relationship, and in the pilgrim's wanderings in this wilderness, mercy and mystery have ever walked hand-in-hand. It is true "He cares for you." But it is in grace relationships and in salvation characters. He is the great "Worker." Ye are His building and His husbandry. And the squaring, the fitting, the polishing, the ploughing, the harrowing, the sowing, and the weeding prove His care, and His patient pleasure in His care. While they are sources of mystery, and often of heart-bleeding sorrow and distress to the favoured ones. He is the great "Watcher," neither slumbering nor sleeping, night nor day. He sees the snare, the pitfall, and the treacherous path; and the laments, the faintness, the giddiness that brings you to the ground, are but the hand of Love extended, and the fruit of loving care, which ever makes all things work together for your good. He is the glorious Leader, who is ever jealous of the love and the intelligent affection of His followers. While they, sometimes, absorbed in the contemplation of the oil and the wine, the corn, the flax and wool, nearly, if not quite, forget Himself. But "He careth for you" appears in a strange glory, while He says, 'Behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her." And the wilderness shall witness the new betrothal in righteousness, in judgment, in loving kindness, in mercies, and in faithfulness. And a deepened, chastened knowledge of the Lord shall prove His loving, patient, pleasurable care, and His gracious determination to do you good, and that with His whole heart. He " cares" for insects, for birds, for oxen, and for men, as a wise and beneficent Creator. But for "you," in grace relation, as only such a Father can. With all the marvellous tenderness of a loving mother's great heart," He cares to comfort, and sings the troubled to rest upon His bosom, saying, "Fear not, I am with thee, O, be not dismayed; I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid." "He cares," while present, He says in sweet majesty, "It is I, be not afraid. And He cares when tarrying, while some Mary's or some Martha's heart is riven as by His thunderbolt. We e may, then, well cry with them of old, "Lord, increase our faith." Faith's grasp of the great truth, His loving, patient, constant care shall impart to the soul a calm grace dignity that nothing else can. Let it be admitted that the world cares not for you. That Abraham be ignorant of you, and Israel acknowledge you not, that brethren and friends fail, and seem to forget you, and you walk solitary and alone. May a loving Jesus help you to say, "Yet the Lord thinketh of me, and careth for me, and all is and shall be well." "He careth for you," shall help you to be steady, as Abraham was who staggered not" at the promise, through nature's failure. Nor at the demand of Sovereign Love after the promise was fulfilled. To be true; under all the assaults of earth and hell, for His word abideth for ever. To suffer; taking joyfully the spoiling of all that may be dear to the flesh, knowing that in heaven you have a better and an enduring substance, reserved for you by His "care," and you preserved for it. It shall help you confidently to expect a glorious triumph presently. Through, every blood-signed promise being fulfilled. In, the glory which is presently to be revealed, when and where "You shall see His face, And never, never sin, J. BENNETT. ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. RESUMING our subject at the point where we left it in last month's issue, we repeat the question then propounded: How, if man is the creature of God, and so under obligation to Him, and if that obligation is that he be righteous (which he is not), can the claims of God's holy law be satisfactorily met? And, further, if not met and satisfied in this world, how are they to be adjusted in the world to come? Still addressing the mere reasoner, we would inquire: Does he think that corporal death is an end of the matter, and, if he does think so, then where is the satisfaction? Or does he think that, by passing out of this world, he has passed away from the government and jurisdiction of the Almighty; for, if that be his thought, he must suppose that such government is limited to the square miles of the earth's surface, and that the infinitely greater universe beyond it is outside of the rule of its Creator? Or, again, does he think that the great Legislator has one law for time and another for eternity, and that the principle of righteousness in the Divine government prevails only in this life and is annihilated in the world to come? The most persistent reasoner must admit that law cannot die, but that, whatever world the subject of it may reside in, it follows him. A change of worlds cannot involve a change of law, and what is righteous in this world must be righteous in that which is to come. A law that is flexible, elastic, accommodating, is a contradiction in terms; a law that cannot be enforced is scarcely less so, and the obligations of the creature to the law of God follow him into the world of spirits, and are precisely the same in their nature and extent there as they are here. The language of law is, of necessity, “Pay me that thou owest me," and it must be the same to all eternity, unless law itself could be annihilated, righteousness come to terms with wickedness, and good and evil merge their differences. How, then, is the sinner to pay what is owing? Will he be in a better position to pay in the next world than he was in this? The idea of annihilation being equivalent to satisfaction, would be indignantly repudiated by the votary of reason, if applied to his own claims in the commercial world. Let us suppose that some debtor of his, who owes him a large amount, dies penniless. What happens? Simply that he loses his money. But does he call this satisfaction? Far from it. Yet he vainly argues that the claims of holiness and righteousness may be terminated in a manner which he would never acknowledge in a question of pounds, shillings, and pence. The fact is that the Gospel, and the Gospel alone, explains how God can be just and yet the Justifier of a sinner. But the wise men of this world reject the Gospel. We say reject, of course having regard to the doctrine of the Gospel-not the grace of the Gospel, which latter is not offered for man's acceptance, but freely bestowed upon them "whose names are written in heaven." As the Jews of old "stumbled at the idea of a Saviour who could not save himself, and the Greeks counted it foolishness to believe in the divine claims of a crucified man, so also those great men of our time-who profess to know everything-reject, refuse, despise, and contemn the doctrine of the Atonement. But they suggest no reasonable alternative, and we therefore reiterate the statement made in our former paper to the effect that, whether they call themselves Annihilationists, Destructionists, or Restorationists, it all comes to the same thing in the end-the effacement of the Almighty, the erasure of moral law, the annihilation of the governing principle of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Each and all of the theories that have been propounded by carnal reason, in opposition to the doctrine of future and eternal punishment for sin, involve all these, and are necessarily based upon the idea that the law of God can, and ultimately will, be defrauded. The argument-often used-that it would be unjust to punish a man for ever for the sins committed in a short life-time, is a miserable one in many senses. The time occupied in sin is not the question, but the nature of the sin itself. A man may fire a pistol at the Queen in half a minute, but it is very likely that he would be imprisoned for life for his adventure, and no one would say that the sentence was unjust. But this does not touch the root of the matter. Is there anything in the condition of the damned that can lead us to expect a change of character? Is there any reformation there, any regeneration there, any satisfaction there? In short, are the circumstances of a lost spirit in hell more favourable to him than those which surrounded him in this life? Will he be a better man there than he was here; will he cease to sin there; will the fires of hell there do what the influences of the Gospel never did here? Will the man who died in rebellion against God in this world become a holy righteous man in the next? Because, unless he does become holy and righteous, he can never dwell with God. Eternal damnation consists in eternal separation from God. And as ALL GOOD IS IN GOD, such a separation means separation from all, any, and every good whatsoever. What, then, is to take place in hell to reconcile the sinner to God? Is there any atonement there more effectual than that of Christ? Is there any renewing influence there exceeding that of the Holy Ghost in its powerful effects? If not, what then is the method by which a polluted, lost spirit is to be so changed as to be fitted for the presence and society of the Lord of Hosts ? At this point, other engagements compel us to pause. We shall (if Mr. Editor permits) leave the reasoner and address the believer next month. GEO. W. SHEPHERD. FROM SAINT TO SAINT. No. 27. FROM A PASTOR TO ONE OF HIS FLOCK. September 5th, 1837. MY DEAR SISTER ANN,-I thank you for the friendly token of your Christian love sent to me, but am sorry you should trouble yourself to write, for I am sure it must have been to you no small task to commit your thoughts to paper. It gives me pleasure to learn that my labours are made a blessing to you, and that both your understanding and affections are assisted. Light and love are two great favours which you seem to have received through the Gospel of the grace of God. Light in your judgment, and love in your will towards Christ, and all that evidence their love to the truth as it is in Jesus (Ephes. iv. 21). The all-gracious Lord our God has dealt very mercifully with you, in not only finding you meat, but He has also given you an appetite to receive it with profit and pleasure thereby. He has placed you where you can gather your manna not far from your tent. He has convinced you of your need of salvation -He has made you know your unworthiness of His pardoning love. The Eternal Spirit has led you out of yourself for safety. This Divine Guide has opened to you the only safe and sure way to heaven, and to the fellowship of kindred minds above (Heb. xii. 23). You are led by the Spirit to Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John xiv. 6). It is only through Christ that we can enter Heaven and see God with acceptance (Matt. v. 8; Job xix. 25, 26, 27; Ephes. i. 6; 1 John iii. 2). You are led to exult in the unequalled righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and well you may, for it covers, distinguishes, and dignifies all who confess and wear it; all who believe unto righteousness (Rom. x. 10). In this mode of justifying the guilty, grace reigns, and boasting is excluded (Rom. iii. 24); Christ is endeared self is renounced, sin is abhorred, and holiness promoted. The Gospel is the form of sound doctrine, by which God works salvation in the hearts of His people (Rom. i. 16). It is the voice of the Divine Shepherd calling His sheep to Himself, and leading them into good pastures, and feeding them with spiritual blessings which the ungodly know not the want of, nor the worth of. God Almighty bless you, my friend, and be your God for ever. Accept the love and best wishes of your affectionate Pastor, JOHN STEVENS. Mrs. Stevens unites in kind regards. No. 28. FROM THE LATE J. D. PLAYER TO A FRIEND, ON JOINING THE CHURCH. Saffron Walden, July 25th, 1835. MY DEAR BROTHER IN THE LORD,— May the grace of our compassionate High Priest be with you. The perusal of your letter has afforded me pleasure; and I desire to feel grateful that the Lord has in any measure made me the instrument of good to your soul; for I am sometimes inclined to fear that my feeble ministrations are not blest to the flock of God. I would remind you that your conscious weakness will tend to endear to you the Lord our strength. It is a great mercy to know ourselves, so as to feel our need of the refuge for the destitute that is revealed in the Word. Our gracious Redeemer will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax. Many of His disciples follow Him with a fearful heart, but He encourages them to trust in Him. He says to them that are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not!" And He will have His ministers say so too, and that not merely as a command, but by opening the worth of His sacrifice, the efficacy of His blood, and the sufficiency and freshness of His grace, in order that, by the blessing of the Holy Ghost on the Word, they may speak to the strengthening of the faith and confirming the hope of those who know the plague of their own heart. Nothing can relieve the heart bowed down under a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, but believing views of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose one offering has perfected for ever, and whose blood cleanses from all sin. All those for whom His Blood was shed are taught by the Holy Ghost their need of its purifying virtue, and are made to desire the blessings which are peculiar to the sanctified people of God. That lesson you have in some measure learned, and that desire has been implanted in your soul, as appears from what you express in your letter "And can He have taught you To trust in His name, And thus far have brought you, Oh, no! The work begun shall be perfected by its divine Author. 1 perceive that you have your mind exercised with reference to your uniting in fellowship with the Lord's people in a church state; and though you desire to walk in the footsteps of the flock, your fears discourage you. He who has directed His people to keep His ordinances has promised that He will be with them in His ways. Our sufficiency is of the Lord alone. You have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and therefore, as a new-born babe, you are invited to partake of the milk that is found in Zion, and which is imparted in the ordinances of divine appointment. I would have written you more fully, but as it is Saturday evening, and is getting late, you will excuse my brevity, and receive these few remarks as the expression of sincere desire for your spiritual growth and establishment. With Christian love to you and your respected help-meet, in which mine unites. I remain, dear brother, your servant for Christ's sake, J. D. PLAYER. FAVOURITE HYMNS AND THEIR CHARLES WESLEY'S HYMNS. "THOU Shepherd of Israel and mine, The joy and desire of my heart, For closer communion I pine; I long to reside where Thou art. Where all who their Shepherd obey day. |